The ‘Bets’ – as operators are called in Brazil – will start operating under regulation in January and CEOs of large betting houses say they have already been approached by commercial directors of large banks interested in managing bettors’ financial accounts, an amount that, last year, reached R$120 billion (US$ 21.4bn).

The main idea, according to one of the CEOs interviewed by Painel S.A., is to intermediate the funds from bettors’ accounts in betting. According to the executives interviewed, there is a possibility that these virtual accounts – and even the payment system via Pix – will be operated by a financial institution.

Banks could make more money with these funds, investing the volume daily in the market, in the same way they do with the balances in their own customers’ checking accounts.

Just to give an idea, a volume of R$10 billion (US$ 1.8bn) per month yields around R$1 billion (US$ 180m) in an investment adjusted by the DI.

The banks, however, vehemently deny that they are interested in the business. “We are not aware of any intention or negotiation between the banks and the betting companies to take over the financial portfolio,” said Febraban president Isaac Sidney in a statement.

“?We spoke to the major institutions and they not only denied that they were taking any action in this direction, but also assured us that the news [interest in doing business with betting companies] was unfounded.”

According to the federation, the banks are concerned about the rise of this betting market and the potential for families to become over-indebted. So far, bets have been made via credit card – something that has been banned by regulation – and this has increased debt.

In addition, and no less important, Febraban points out security issues: the guarantee that the “know your customer” policy will be followed.

The banks will not associate themselves with a business that, to date, has also been used to launder money and evade foreign exchange.

Source: Painel/Folha